Hey Everyone. My friend and I are trying to create a lolita dress that has a wind-up key attached to the back. We want this dress to look like a moving doll, so it would be awesome if the key could turn. Right now, we're creating the wire frame for the key, and are thinking about paper macheing it.

Do any of you have any experience creating props that move? We're also curious what would be the best way to make the key. And how to attach the key to our model without the harness being seen (We're thinking of doing a cascade to hide the slit in the dress right now). Any suggestions or tips would be much appreciated!

First off, if you want it to move constantly, you will need some kind of motor, and motors need electricity, and portable electric sources are not fun to carry around or hide in a costume. However a wind up mechanism requires winding, but adds to realism. So you need to decide which is better for you. If you pick the motor paper mache will be fine, but if you need to wind it the paper mache will likely bend or break. To prevent this you can either insert scrap metal into the paper mache or actually find someone who can make a metal key. That's all I have to say for now. I'll see what I can do after you decide on electricity or ye' ole clockwork.

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Obviously some of their materials could be substituted with things cheaper. (PVC or a cardboard tube instead of brass as an example)

I have to second this suggestion, as I have used this instruction and it was very easy and worked out great.
I used cardboard tube for mine instead of brass, and instead of a magnet I created a harness that was worn with a corset.